Thailand
Beaches, Bugs and Buffets
In Thailand
we navigate scorching heat, wild encounters, and unexpected luxuries. From serene beaches to bustling Bangkok, our Thai adventure is filled with multiple 7-Eleven stops, temple campouts, and the joy of connecting with fellow travelers.
We Love You 7-Eleven
The first thing we see after crossing into Thailand is a sign for a 7-Eleven. We’re reminded of Japan’s convenience stores and look forward to that luxury here in Thailand.
We might be in a new country and have the comfort of convenience stores, but the weather hasn’t changed. It’s roasting! We battle through the 40°C heat on an immaculate asphalt road and finish our first day in Thailand 58 km from the border at Laem Klat beach. The beach is littered, but it’s good enough for a dip before dinner. The sunset is spectacular and makes our pot noodle supper feel slightly more glamorous.
Back on the bikes in the morning, it takes us only 45 minutes and 17 km of riding before we stop at our first 7-Eleven. Two iced coffees, jam filled biscuits, bananas, cheese toasties, one onigiri and a strawberry frappe constitute a good breakfast. As we sit in the cafe section of the air-conditioned 7-Eleven store I feel a theme emerging already, and I like it. There is a reason they are called convenience stores and we will definitely be frequenting them!
The Lights Are On but Nobody’s Home
Following the east coast towards Pattaya, we have a couple of beast days. Starting at 6am, we try to be finished by the heat of the day at 1pm having done over 100 km. Due to a slightly longer than planned stop at a 7-Eleven over lunch, we are running late today. We arrive at a shrine next to the sea that we have checked out on Google maps. We are hoping to sleep here as it’s starting to get dark and there isn’t any camp sites or hotels nearby.
The shrine appears just as deserted as on the satellite view. Some fishermen on a nearby jetty give us the green light to pitch our tent in a shelter opposite the shrine.
Jana serves our dinner at 6:30pm as the sun sets. We get our head torches out so as to see our food and not eat in darkness. At exactly 7pm and halfway through our food the shrine and surrounding buildings light up like a Christmas Tree!
There are several lamp posts as well as lightbulbs hanging on cables between the various temple buildings. Lights are even wrapped around the roughly 20 meter high totem pole that stands in the middle of the temple complex.Â
What we thought would be the perfect stopover has turned into a nightmare of a campsite. It is like trying to sleep in a sports stadium with the floodlights on.
I wouldn’t ordinarily condone my actions in what I am about to explain, however under the circumstances I think I can be excused.
We realise quite quickly that we won’t be able to sleep with all these lights on. I begin walking around the temple buildings looking for light switches. Nothing. Disappointed, I return to the tent.
Suddenly I spot a plastic container in one corner on the wall of our shelter. A fuse box? I reach up and open the front of the case. I nervously flick the switches down. We hear a click and then are left standing in complete darkness. The change is extreme as there are no other lights in the area. The fishermen still on the jetty must have got a shock.
A Bit of Luxury
Cycling next to the sea just seems to give us more energy or put us in a better mood. Yes it’s really hot (35-40°C) and we haven’t slept well or showered for 3 days, but somehow we feel good. Realising we need a bit of a break, we book a room in a converted container with air con and a shower on Airbnb for 14€.Â
Our routine is always the same when we treat ourselves to a guest house or apartment. We strip off our sweaty clothes, get in the shower, half dry ourselves then lie on the bed drinking fizzy sugary drinks! Heaven! We are too tired to really do anything so happily settle for a pot noodle dinner, meaning we don’t have to leave our container till the morning! 14€ well spent.
Pattaya - Even More Luxury
We pass the sign for Pattaya and are surprised at how easy it is to ride into and around the city. After a week in the cheap end of town it is time for us to collect my Mum and her partner Andy from the airport and check in to our lavish resort for the week. In comparison to the last couple of months, everything in Thailand is a luxury for us. This hotel is truly palatial though, even for those who aren’t used to slumming it in a tent.
The week consists of a daily buffet breakfast, lots of iced coffee and just generally too much food. We eat out a lot and come to the conclusion that the best food is to be had at the local night market! The whole week is crowned off with several sundowner cocktails and dinner on the sand at a beach restaurant. Perfect.
Back To Reality
It’s tough to say goodbye after a great week. Being a couple of kilos heavier after a relaxing week, we struggle through day 1 back on the bikes. Before dark we make it to a lake just north of Pattaya. Pitching the tent on some open land, there are only a few fishermen around as we fall fast asleep.
Instead of the slow start in an airconditioned room that we have become accustomed to, we wake up in a humid tent feeling a bit grubby and with everything slightly moist. Our skin doesn’t feel any better after applying our daily layer of sunscreen either. At least the tent dries quickly however as the sun rises overhead.Â
One positive of being back on the bikes again is getting the feeling of hunger. Breakfast at a 7-Eleven might not be as glamorous as in a luxury resort, but somehow being really hungry when eating makes the cheap breakfast taste almost as good.
Big City Life
The road leading us to Bangkok is a twelve lane highway. We cycle on the hard shoulder to the far left. The lane is wide enough but the ride is made difficult as every couple of hundred meters we encounter a parked car, bus or lorry. The vehicles aren’t broken down and waiting for assistance as you might expect. They are just parked, like the hard shoulder is no more than a parking lot at a supermarket. We have to swerve out into the first lane of the motorway to overtake. As if that wasn’t difficult enough, scooters come in the opposite direction. If people want to go to a shop or get to the next junction, it is apparently acceptable to just ride in the wrong direction.
We ease into city life and eat most evenings at the various night markets within walking distance of our apartment. Most of the food tastes incredible, but there are a couple of questionable snacks and dishes on offer. Almost daring one another, we finally pluck up the courage to order the fried insects and grubs we have seen and joked about on several occasions. To our surprise they’re actually quite nice! Well. The marinade of oil, paprika, salt and pepper is nice. The grasshoppers and grubs don’t really taste of anything, it’s just an odd thought for us westerners to eat such things. It takes some getting used to, picking fried insect legs out from between your teeth.
Friends with Babies
Bangkok is the 7th most visited city in the world, and it is easy to see why. There is a lovely combination of cultural buildings, temples, museums, modern skyscrapers, street markets, parks and open spaces. 6 of the 12.2 million visitors to Bangkok this year are our friends; Alisa and Dennis plus their baby Frida as well as Shiomi, Big Seb and their baby Leo.Â
It is awesome to see friendly faces and of course meet their new additions to their respective families. Discussing life as it used to be as well as how work is going for each of them brings mixed emotions. I think part of that is that I am jealous of their upmarket hotels and pools, which we are lucky enough to visit. It does get me thinking about our trip coming to an end later this year though and actually how excited I am to get back to Germany and “normal life”.
Made in Taiwan
We set off from Bangkok at 8am, but something doesn’t feel right with my bike. Cars rush past in the four lanes to our right as we stop to inspect the problem. I check my brakes. They have been an issue since we crossed the border a couple of weeks ago but I just ignored it. The brake pads rub on the side of the rim and cause friction while riding. I adjust one side to correct it but then the other side rubs. Bending over this time to look at my wheel from the side I understand why. My hub is cracked and 2 spokes are hanging completely loose. That explains why the brakes rub…my rim is skewed! I can’t ride on. This needs fixing in Bangkok. Having made it no more than a couple of kilometers from our apartment we turn back and head to the nearest bike store.Â
The first two bike shops turn us away as they don’t have the required size rim. In the third shop we get lucky. They have the new hub and rim I require. Showing me the part, the mechanic says “good quality good quality”. He then pauses momentarily before continuing, “made in Taiwan, very good”. Maybe Taiwanese quality to the Thai people is like German quality engineering to the Europeans.
It’s 2pm by the time we finally make it out of the city!
The Perfect Photo
The scenery is gorgeous as we cycle along the coast. We have the beach on the left and small hills of rock popping up out of flatland to our right.Â
We stop to take a photo. Jana has a specific constellation in mind that requires us to stand next to our bikes with the beach and sea in the background.Â
The path we are riding along is at the top of a 3m high seawall. It is a steep drop with several concrete steps down to the sand below. Jana gets us in position with just a small curb between us and the drop down. The constellation is so precise that we have to use the curb to balance whilst perching on our saddles.Â
She sets up the camera on a post opposite us. To take the photo she presses the self-timer button on the camera and runs back into position. The first couple of attempts don’t go to plan. Jana is too slow and the photo is taken before she can get up into the correct position. She has to run faster and jump up onto her saddle quicker.Â
Standing next to the camera, ready for the next attempt, she braces herself. The camera clicks as the self timer button is pressed. Jana sprints over to her bike and jumps up onto her saddle. This time it’s definitely faster than the previous attempts. As she turns her head ready to pose, she loses her footing. The bike sways and she flaps to try and regain her balance. Missing the step with her left foot she falls over the edge. Moans of pain and the crashing of her bike are to be heard as she bashes against the concrete on the way down.Â
Jana lies in a bundle on the sand. Curled on her side, she doesn’t move. I throw my bike to the floor and jump over the wall, down to the beach. I hear her groan. Slowly, she begins to move. One by one she lifts her limbs and pats herself down, checking for injuries. Luckily she is OK. Apart from a few cuts and bruises and being covered in muddy sand, it’s just her pride that’s hurt.Â
We dust her off as well as we can and check the footage on the camera. The photos have caught the moment perfectly and despite the shock, even encourage a chuckle from Jana.
At a nearby government building a security guard lets Jana wash off the sand using a garden hose. As the guard shows Jana a bathroom where she can change, I give her bike and equipment a wash down too. It’s been a while since we cleaned the bikes anyway, so Jana falling off had a positive effect in a way as well. Not that I will be encouraging her to fall off again.
Monkeys and Snakes
Monkey Monument is a small temple and viewing area within a Thai airforce base. A group of spectacled langurs live in the nature reserve and visitors come here to observe this endangered monkey species. Some of the babies jump between a couple of branches and provide entertainment for the 6 or so onlookers, including us.
We often spot or hear monkeys while riding, which definitely adds to the enjoyment of cycling. On the other end of the happiness spectrum however, we unfortunately see a lot of snakes as well! Without sounding zoophobic, luckily most of the snakes are dead, squashed by cars on the road. Today, we encounter a record 7 snakes, though we regularly come across 3 or more.
Daily Dilemmas
There are classic dilemmas that we face almost on a daily basis while bike touring. Do we stop to take photos or just enjoy the moment? Should we make a detour to visit a tourist attraction or do we remain on the route and cycle more kilometers? Do we cook ourselves something special or do we eat something quick and cycle more?
We arrive at the Great Sand Dune near Chumphon at dusk. The dune lives up to its name and requires us to carry the bikes up the 50 or so steps to the top and then halfway down the other side to the viewing platforms. This leads us to today’s dilemma: Do we pitch the tent on a platform with a roof in case it rains or on the platform with no roof but with better views of the ocean?
You may wonder why this is a dilemma, considering our tent is waterproof? Well, as the temperature doesn’t drop below 25°C at night, we only build the inner layer of the tent so as to improve air circulation inside.Â
It’s already dark and the sky is clear, so we decide to set up the tent on the open platform with the better view. I fall asleep to the sound of lapping waves, only to be woken by Jana at 3am. “Joel, it’s raining”, she says. “Ah damn, ok”, I splurt, as I roll over and unzip the front of the tent. We both scramble out and hurry to attach the waterproof outer layer of the tent. The rain is heavier than expected, so that I am now wide awake from the adrenaline.
We secure the tent and ensure none of our equipment gets wet. Before we clamber back into bed we use damp towels from swimming earlier to dry off in the entrance of the tent.Â
Despite not sleeping too well, I am glad we chose the platform with no roof. The view in the morning more than justifies a rough night’s sleep.
A Surprise in the Mountains
After several days riding with salt fields on both sides of the roads, we leave the east coast and head inland.
We cycle to the south west of Thailand and the Phang Nga region, north of Phuket. The area greets us with the first hills since leaving northern Laos almost 4 months ago. The views in the national parks are stunning and the dense rainforest is mesmerizing.
We find a wild camping spot on top of a hill at a derelict viewing point in the Khlong Phanom National Park. The space we choose even has a roof so we avoid getting drenched in the torrential rain that falls overnight and don’t even need the outer layer of the tent.Â
The morning routine is in full flow. I am stood next to my bike applying sun cream while Jana finishes packing our stuff in the tent. I rub the cream into my neck and then bend forward to start my left leg. “Oh, #&*$!!!!”, I scream as I jump backwards. To my horror there is a fist sized black scorpion no further than 10 centimeters from my left foot. Jana peers out of the tent and bellows instructions at me, mainly telling me to calm down. “It’s easy for you to say, sat inside the tent”, I reply. I move around slowly and stand behind the tent (and Jana) in safety.Â
The scorpion doesn’t move. It’s just stood there with its tail aloft in an aggressive fashion 2 meters from the tent. Over the next few minutes we try everything to get it to turn around and go away. We hit the floor to create vibrations. We shout and scream. Nothing seems to work. The scorpion stays put. There is a moment of silence while we consider alternative actions. Jana even gets her phone out to start googling our options. We don’t want to hurt it, but we certainly don’t want to be hurt either! Jana explains that the most scorpion and snake attacks come when trying to kill the creatures, so that’s reassuring.
While Jana’s reading and I am still hiding, the scorpion starts to move. It turns 180° on the spot and begins to scuttle away across the concrete towards the long grass a few meters away. Phew. Danger over.Â
Oddly enough, scrolling on your phone and just waiting for the it to go away wasn’t on the Google suggestions for how to deal with a scorpion. Gen-Z are always on their phone, they must be brilliant at dealing with dangerous animal encounters like this.
4 Germans and a Curry
After passing through Krabi we only have about 250 km of Thailand left before the border to Malaysia. We leave a Cafe Amazon (the Starbucks of Thailand) with a fresh dose of caffeine and continue south on the bikes.Â
About 200 meters ahead of us on the road there are a couple of what appear to be slow moving scooters. It’s only when we get closer that we can see leg movements. Cyclists!Â
Jenny and Paul, two friends from Leipzig, Germany, are bike tourers like us. They are going the same way and so we agree to cycle a couple of days together.Â
(A side note about Jenny and Paul. Whilst on their trip they are raising money for the charity Bike Bridge. They aim to increase mobility and facilitate social and cultural integration of female asylum seekers in Germany through cycling. If you’re interested to find out more or would like to make a donation, please visit bike bridge (German language).
Deciding to finish the day at a beach, we set up camp. Combining the contents of our food bags we (mainly Paul) conjure up a Thai green curry for dinner. It’s a lovely evening spent sat on some driftwood discussing our cycling experiences, eating good food and stargazing. The perfect ending to a few amazing weeks in Thailand.
Thailand in Photos
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